Heidi R. Kling comes over to the EA blog to answer our questions about romance and her new book WHERE I FOUND YOU. Now, on with the questions!

What are your five favorite movies with romance or romantic elements?

Titanic

Romeo and Juliet

Shakespeare in Love

The Holiday

Love, Actually

(Scary how fast I typed those out)

Describe your favorite scene from each one:

Oooh!!! Titanic: I think it’s when Jack pulls Rose’s dress sleeve into the secret room and confesses how much he loves her.

R+J: kissing under the water in the pool. Come on!

Shakespeare in Love: when he’s so in love and inspired he can’t write fast enough

Did you have any of these scenes in mind when writing scenes from your latest release?

Yes. I initially wrote WHERE I FOUND YOU (Sea #1) to give readers a glimpse into a post-disaster world. What it would be like to be a teenager, or tween orphaned by a something that came out of nowhere. Your life is going along normally and then BAM! You have no home. You have no village. You have no parents. What would that be like? And how could you possibly go on? The film Titanic inspired me because by giving us the beloved characters of Jack and Rose, we get a glimpse of what those who drowned —and survived—on that fatal night, experienced. And empathy, especially now, is crucial for humanity to survive.

FIVE BOOKS

If you could only read five books for the rest of your life, what five books would they be, and why?

Practically speaking, I’d probably take a cookbook, a survival guide, a map of the world, a science book, and a gardening book. ☺

BOOK BOYFRIENDS

Who are your book boyfriends? What do you like about them? What characteristics do they share with the hero from your latest release?

This may be lame, but I LOVE all the guys in my books. From 1-5 probably Felix James (NOT OKAY, CUPID), Jake from PAINT MY BODY RED, Deni in WHERE I FOUND YOU + WHERE THE SEA TAKES ME), I also love the Dutch guy in Gayle Forman’s Just One Day series, but I can’t remember his name!

FIRST ROMANCE:

What was the first romance novel you read?

Flowers in the Attic. LOL. Can we call that romance though? !!

Deenie and Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume

What do you remember about it? Young angst. It’s so real and undeniable. If I’m able to capture just a fraction of what it’s really like in my novels, I’ll be a happy writer.

SNAPPY CHAT

Darcy or Wentworth? Darcy

Christian or Gideon? ? Sorry! I don’t know this one.

Rochester or Heathcliff? Heathcliff.

Spock or Kirk? Han Solo.

Sunrise or sunset? Sunset

Angst or humor? Both!

Tea or coffee? Both!

Wine or beer? Both!

Cake or pie? Both!

Scruff, beard, or clean-shaven? All of the above!

Blue-collar or white collar? Blue

Jeans or a suit? Jeans

Car or motorcycle? Oooh depends on the driver. ☺

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Heidi R. Kling writes about normal young women in not-so-normal situations – books that beg the question: what would I do in her shoes? Heidi majored in literature and creative writing in college and in grad school, where she earned her Master’s in Creative Writing from The New School in New York City. She’s honored to be included in New School Writing Program’s 2015 list of faculty and alumni. She works too much, reads a ton and is way too dedicated to serial TV (The Affair and Homeland are her faves) and dark chocolate. She lives in the California Bay Area with her lovely husband, two children and shaggy dog, Sailor Lily, right over the coastal mountains from the sea. She’s very grateful.

After her mother’s plane went missing over the Indian Ocean, seventeen-year-old Sienna Jones gave up everything she loved about living in California. No more surfing. No more swimming. No more ocean, period. Playing it safe, hiding from the world, is the best call.

Until her dad throws down the challenge of a lifetime: spend the summer with his humanitarian team in Indonesia, working with orphans who lost everything in a massive tsunami.

The day they arrive, Sienna meets a mysterious boy named Deni, whose dark, intense eyes make her heart race. Their stolen nights force her to open up and live in a way she thought she couldn’t anymore. When she’s with Deni, she remembers the girl she used to be…and starts to feel like the woman he sees in her.

A woman he wants for his own.

Gulp.

But when Deni’s past comes looking for him, Sienna’s faced with losing another person she loves. She can’t do it. Not again.